Window-shade fixture.



PATENTBD NOV. 3; 1903.

D. HOIYT.

WINDOW SHADE FIXTURE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 26, 1903.

T0 at whom it may concern:

NITED STATES Patented November 3, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL HOYT, OF SOUTH NORWALK, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TONATIONAL LOCK WASHER COMPANY, OF NEWARK, NEW

JERSEY.

-W|NDOW-SHAD E FIXTU RE.

$PEGIFICATION forming part of Le ttersPatent No. 742,989, dated November3, 1903.

Application filed January 26, 1903. Serial No. 140,503. (No model.)

Be it known that I, DANIEL HOYT, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of South Norwalk, in the county of Fairfield and State ofConnecticut, have invented a certain new and useful Window-ShadeFixture, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to window-shade fixtures in which atension-roller is employed.

in operating the same.

The object of my invention is to provide a window-shade fixture whichallows the curtain to be easily raised or lowered, yet held firmly atany elevation, and which is adaptable to closed or open cars, and maybeoperated from the outside as readily as from the inside of the car, andwhich provides at all times a strong even tension on the shade thatinsures a smooth-setting curtain and also prevents it from bellyingeasily when exposed to the wind, and maintains at all times the bottomof the shade in a horizontal position parallel to the spring-roller.

In the present invention I provide a fixture which can be cheaply andreadily made and applied andwhich will not easily get out of order andwhich while rendered easy to remove from the guides cannot be throwntherefrom in the act of operating the shade.

The invention consists in the construct-ion and combination ofinstrumentalities to effect these purposes, which I will first proceedto describe in connection with the accompanying drawings andsubsequently to point out the novel characteristics in the appendedclaims.

In the drawings the essential parts are referred to in the severalfigures, the corresponding parts being designated by similar numbers ofreference.

Figure 1 represents a front elevation,partly in section, of awindow-frame with shade attached; and Fig. 2, a vertical section of Fig.1, taken on the line 2 2. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of the shadeand holding-fixture on the line 3 3, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a side view 22 aspring-roller journaled in the bracket 23 to the window-frame.

24 represents traveling heads which slide upon the guiderods 25 orwithin guidegrooves, as shown in Fig. 5.

26 is a stick or bar connected with and near the base of the shade andextends the width of the shade. Within or attached to the respectiveends of this bar 26 a removable and adjustable hollow casing isplaced,which carries the head 24. The head 24 is provided with a tang28, integral therewith and projecting horizontally and about centrallytherefrom. This tang 28 fits the interior of the hollow casing 27 andhas a free endwise movement in said casing. At the inner end of the tang28 a rod or bolt 29 of less diameter and fixed to the tang is extendedthrough the hollow casing 27 and provided with a thread at its end andan adjusting-nut 29', that bears upon the annular ring 30, secured inthe inner end of the casing 27 by any convenient means. The rod 29passes freely through the ring 30, and between the shoulder of the tang28 and the ring 30 and surrounding the rod 29 a coiled spring 31 isplaced. The compression of the spring 31 and the extent of the slidingmovement of the justable casing'27. This spring 31 forms a yieldingbearing for the thrust of the head ,24 and may be madelight or heavy,according to the friction-pressure required on the head.

In Fig. 1 the parts referred to are shown in relative position with thetang 28 of the head 24 moved inwardly to compress the spring 31 toproduce a degree of friction of the head 24 upon its guide-rod 25 thatwill retain the head and attached shade after moving the tang 28 of thehead 24 is regulated by the ad- This invention, so far as described, maybe used in connection with any known kind of tension-roller, the novelfeature of the construction described consisting in the separate,adjustable, and yielding fixtures located upon the opposite sides of theshade.

I am well aware that many kinds of friction-heads actuated byspring-pressure are used in this class of devices; but the shadestickwhich extends across the bottom of the shade is included with theoperative mechanism of the spring-pressure head-and forms an elementofthe mechanism, and each shadestick, therefore, is made in accordancewith the width of the shade, while in my invention the fixtures areindependent of the shadestick in their action and can be attached to theends of any shade-stick and can be readily adjusted and applied to anywidth of shade and made at less cost. The fixtures are selfcontained andare made only of sufiicient length to include the parts that effect theyielding thrust movement of the head 24, the device in itself operatingentirely independent of the shade-stick. It will thus be seen that eachfixture is made complete in itself and capable of ready attachment to ashadestick of any length or size. The invention, however, embodies afurther improvement, in which the spring-roller has practically an eventension throughout during the entire travel of the shade and whichtension is balanced by counteracting means that will permit an easy andrapid movement of the shade and yet maintain a proper tension upon theshade itself and at the same time not affect the action of theholding-fixtures. This operation of my invention is accomplished by theemployment of a long spring 33in the operating-roller 22, whereby thedegree of tension during the limited movement of the shade is of lessvariation than in the use of a' shorter spring or one designed in itsextreme operation in length commensurate only with a definite movementof the shade. In combination with the long and stronger spring referredto I attach a bar at the bottom of the shade (shown at 26) of suchpredetermined weight as to balance the tension of the spring in theroller 22 and maintain a tension upon the shade when set and also whenraising or lowering the shade.

In use the ordinary shade operated by a spring-roller has a travel ofabout forty inches, which requires about twelve revolutions of theroller. This roller is given a capacity of about twenty-fourrevolutions, commencing with no tension upon the spring. Aftertwenty-four revolutions the roller has a very strong tension, whichincreases very fast with each revolution. Thus if you start with theroller wound up ten revolutions and the shade is at its highest positionwhen you pull it down twelve revolutions more you increase the tensionvery fast, so that when the shade is all the way up you have but littletension and when all the way down a very strong tension. The roller andspring which I use has preferably a capacity of about forty-eight turnsto obtain the same tension the ordinary spring-roller obtains withtwenty-four turns. In all other respects this roller is the same as theroller in general use. With my invention when the shade is way up theroller involves about twenty-eight turns and when way down about fortyturns,which produces at all times a strong tension. As forty-eight turnsproduces a spring tension only equal to the ordinary roller withtwenty-four turns, each turn of the roller embodied in my inventioncauses but slight variation in its tension. With the present inventionwhen the shade is about half-way of its travel or at thirtyfour turns ofthe roller and there is, say, a five-pound tension on the shade, I use acounterbalance at the bottom of the shade equal to the tension of thespring-roller which exactly balances the shade at this point. Itfollows, therefore, if you raise the shade way up you slightly decreasethe tension of the roller, and the counterbalance would consequentlygradually pull the shade down to thirty-four turns. If you pull thecurtain way down to forty turns, the tension would be slightlyincreased, and in this position the tension would gradually draw thecounterbalance up to thirty-four turns, where it just balances. Toovercome this slight variation of the tension and to hold the shadefirmly at the bottom, I use the spring-actuated friction fixtureheretofore described, which runs on a guideway in or on the window-frameon each side of the curtain. The spring-pressure of these fixtures mustbe of less holding power against the casing than the tension of thespring-roller or the weight of the counterbalance. Thus when you push upone side of the shade-bar the tension of the roller is all transferredto the opposite friction-head, which draws that up as fast as you liftthe other, and vice versa in pulling down the shade, thus maintainingthe bottom of the curtain at all times in a horizontal position. Tomanipulate the shade, you simply have to push it up or pull it down,taking hold of the bottom at any place inside or outside of a car. Theonly force necessaryis to overcome the light friction of the fixture inits guides. In connection with-this balancing feature of my invention Iwish it to be understood that I do not confine myself to the particularkind of devices herein shown and described for guiding or holding theshade, as other wellknown devices at present in use may be substituted,the appended claims referring to such balancing device being expressedand intended to cover in combination therewith any suitable fixtures forguiding and main taining the shade at any part of its traverse.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In combination with a window-shade, a connected roller provided witha spring of practically even tension within the limit of movement of theshade; a counterweight attached near the base of the shade to balancethe tension of the roller, and suitable fixtures connected with theshade to guide and maintain the shade in any desired position of itstraverse, as set forth.

2. In combination with a window-shade a connected roller provided with acoiled spring of increased length to provide an increased range ofaction; a weight attached to the free end of the shade to balance thetension of the roller-spring, and a suitable fixture connected with theshade to guide and maintain the same in any desired position of itstraverse, as set forth.

3. In combination with a window-shade, a connected roller provided witha spring of practically even tension within the limit of movement of theshade; a weight attached to the free end of the shade consisting of arigid bar or equivalent and suitable fixtures connected with therespective ends of the weight to guide or maintain the shade at anydesired position of its traverse, as set forth.

4. In combination with a Window-shade, a tension-roller; a shade-stick,and self-contained holding-fixtures separately attached to theshade-stick and having a longitudinal adjustment therewith and capableof a yielding thrust movement operating independently of theshade-stick, as set forth.

5. A window-shade provided with a tensionroller; a rigid bar or tubeextending the width of the shade and holding-fixtures separatelyattached to the respective ends of the bar or tube, havinga'longitudinal adjustment therewith and capable of a yielding thrustmovement operating independently of the bar or tube, as set forth.

6. A Window-shade provided with a tensionroller; a shade-stick, andself-contained guiding and holding fixtures separately attached to theshade-stick upon opposite ends thereof, said fixtures being composedrespectively, of an adjustable casing and a guiding-head having a partprojecting into said casing capable of a yielding thrustmovementoperating independently of the shade-stick, as set forth.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,this 24th day of January, A. D. 1903.

DANIEL HOYT.

Witnesses:

CHAS. W. FORBES, CHARLES HANIMANN.

